Tunde Okewale MBE began life on an East London council estate. Today, he is a multi-award winning barrister at one of Britain’s leading legal chambers and is the founder of the charity Urban Lawyers.

Urban Lawyers aims to inspire young people from more ‘non-traditional’ backgrounds to enter the legal profession and educates them in how to provide legal advice within their communities.

Last year, Urban Lawyers launched a schools outreach programme in partnership with Sheffield Hallam University’s Helena Kennedy Centre for International Justice.

The partnership saw law students being trained to run regular law sessions at local Sheffield schools and colleges with the aim of encouraging more young people into the profession.

Tunde said: “I came from a council estate in Hackney - a community that didn’t have any visible inspirational role models. But, I was fortunate to have a supportive family and get a good education to become a lawyer. This was the inspiration behind me wanting to share the skills and experiences I’ve developed so other young people can do what I’m doing and help others along the way.

“Urban Lawyers does not exclude anybody who wants to give back or take opportunities from the resources. This is because I’ve found that if you have an initiative or a scheme that targets people who are identified as ‘disadvantaged’ then they won’t want to be involved. Urban Lawyers is available to everyone. But, the selling point is that I am not from a privileged background, so if anyone did have any hang-ups that law is not a career for them, then those hang-ups are dispelled - because of me and my story and where I’m from.”

In recognition of his contributions to the University and his services to the community and young people, Tunde was awarded an honorary doctorate by Sheffield Hallam University in 2017.